Bag holder for a vacuum bag sealing machine



Jan. A27, 1959 R. s. RANDALL 2,870,591

BAG HOLDER FOR A VACUUM BAG SEALING MACHINE Filed Dec. 5, 1955 nz /3 f. 9 5

INDE N TOI? Egt 9?@12S@@Jll United States Patent BAG HOLDER EDRA VACUUM BAG SEALING MACHINE Ralph S. Randall, San Francisco, Calif., assigner to Vak-U-Pak Corporation, San Francisco, Calif., a corporation of California Application December 5, 1955, Serial No. 550,921

3 Claims. (Cl. 'S3-371) fronting sheets of the bag in slightly spaced relation,

so as to form a slit between the same through which air may be exhausted from the bag, and an inert gas substituted, if desired.

The vacuum bag sealing machine described in my copending application comprises in its principal features, a platform adapted to receive a number of open-ended bags thereon in side-by-side relation, a cover hinged to the platform and operable for lowering upon the same yto form a housing therewith, means yfor evacuating the housing, heat-sealing elements adapted for Alowering upon the open ends of the bags for sealing the same, and means for operating the heat-'sealing elements in timed Arelation to the evacuating process.

When the bags are originally placed upon the platform, it becomes necessary to properly position the same with respect to the descending heat elements, and it is desirable that the ends of the dlled bags be flattened out prior to Y"""""t'ne application of the heat-sealing elements.

in the machine described in vthe l'co-pending application, l provided for this purpose a pair olf yco-operati-ng Ispring fingers which would 'advance slightly ahead of the sealing elements, and which would spread upon the end of the bag for flattening the same.

This arrangement, while operating satisfactorily, gave no particular guide to the operator in fixing the bags, and in the present invention it is proposed to provide a baganchoring means which allows the operator to definitely position the bags in their proper place, without variation in relative position, and to anchor each bag in a swift movement.

It is further proposed to provide an anchoring means of the character described which acts on the extreme end of the bag, leaving an immediately adjacent portion of the neck of the bag free for the sealing operation.

Another object of the present invention is to arrange the holding means in such a manner as to leave a slit e\between the two sheets of the bag, the slit extending ,through the full width of the bag, to facilitate the passage of a gas therethrough.

Further objects and advantages of my invention will be disclosed as the specification continues, and the new and useful features of my bag holder will be fully defined in the claims attached hereto.

The preferred form of my invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, forming part of this application, in which:

Figure l shows a plan view of my bag holder, as applied to the platform of a bag sealing machine;

Figure 2, a front view of the bag holder;

Figure 3, a rear view of the same;

2 Figure 4, a section taken along line `4---4 yof Figure '2; Figure 5, a section taken along line 5--5 lof Figure Figure 6, an end view of the holder -as vseen `from Varrow 6 of Figure 2; and

Figure 7, an end view as seen from arrow 7 of Figure 2. While I have shown yonly the prefer-red form of my bag holder, it should be understood that various vchanges or modifications may be made within the scope of the claims attached hereto, without departing vfrom lthe spirit of the invention. Y

Referring to the drawing in detail, the platform 1 "of the vacuum bag sealing machine is shown 'fragmentarily, it being sufficient for the purpose of thepresent invention to indicate that it is mounted horizontally and is Asubstantially rectangular .and adapted to accommodate 1a number of previously -illed bags thereon in side-by-s'ide relation. A special anchoring lmeans iis `provided for each bag, and each anchoring or holding means comprises in its general features, a str-ip 2, preferably made of metal and Vadapted 'for securing upon the plat-'form by means of screws 3, in parallel relation to vthe front edge of the platform, a block 4 rising from vone end of the strip, a stop S mounted upon the other end o'f the strip, a rod 6 having its ends mounted in the blo-'ck and in the fs'top, t

respectively, and a second 'block '7 'slidable on 'the rod, and a spring 'd coiled about the rod S6 and tensioned to urge the second block away from `the lirst block Eand toward the stop, the ltwo blocks lhaving fingers '9 iand 10 projecting rearwardly over the ,platform,and feng'agea'ble in .opposite edges of the yopen y'end fof the bag for 'stretch'- ing the latter. The bag is' shown rat 11.

The strip 2 is straight, rectangular in form and relastively thin as rcompa-red with :its width. It is of .la length in Vexcess .of Vlthe width of the widest b'ag to be lhandled in the machine.

The block 4 and the stop 5 have alned holes `and their principal 4functionris to support :the rod.

The finger 9 yproiects rearwardly from the block 4 and. has .a substantially dat bottom face 12 spaced from the platform by a suitable distance to fallow `of the accom-'- modation of a layer fof cork 13 underneath the same, with a certain-amount -of clearance between thefbot-tom of Ythe finger and the layer of cork, so as to allow one side of the bag to be readily slipped over the finger.

The finger is in the form of a transversely tapered blade presenting a relatively thin outer edge, as at 14, and a heavier inner edge, shown at 15. The sharp outer edge is intended for engagement in the bag fold, while the inner edge serves the function of a spacing medium for the tWo opposing sheets of the bag. The outer edge is also formed with a slight outward taper 16 to more firmly grip the fold of the bag.

The block 7 is slidable on the rod 6, and has a hat bottom face 17 lightly bearing on the strip 2 so as to hold the block against rotation. Its finger 10 is similar to the finger 9 previously described, its outer edge being relatively sharp, as at 14', and its inner' edge relatively heavy, as shown at 15.

The spring 8 normally crowds the block 7 upon the stop 5. The thin outer edge 14 is also tapered outward, as at 16, to secure a firmer grip in the fold of the bag.

In operation:

The bag 11, which has been previously filled with sliced meats, sausages, or other perishable foods, is placed on the platform rearwardly of the anchoring means by an operator standing in front of the machine. In this position the open end of the bag faces the anchoring means, and the movable block 7 bears against the stop 5. z

The operator then engages the left side fold of the bag, as shown in Figure 1, over the left nger, pulls the bag toward the right until its right fold projects beyond the now cooperate in stretching the `bag, with the two sheets Aarranged in spacedrelation and with a straight slit formed between the sheets, the width ofthe slit being commensurate with the thicknesses of the inner edges of the fingers. -73 While the bag is in this position, it may be readily `'evacuated and re-filled with an inert gas, if desired.

Thesealing element, shown in dotted lines at 22, has

been fully described in the co-pending application, and is made to descend upon the bag and the under-lying v 'layer of resilient material immediately rearwardly of the'fingers, in timed relation to the evacuating operation.

1 The strip 2, if desired, may be made in two sections independently and adjustably secured upon the platform in `alined relation, so as to allow the overall length of the strip to be adjusted for different sizes of bags.

` The layer 13 may be made of cork, as described in the co-pending application, or of rubber or any resilient,

the right fold over the righty heat-resisting and elastic material suited for this purpose.

"Itmay be positioned with its front edge disposed underneath the fingers, as shown in the drawing, or it may be positioned with its front edge disposed rearwardly of the l fingers, so as to leave the space underneath the fingers unoccupied for easier application of the bag. Where the endless belt structure described in the col pending application is substituted forvthe rigid platform,

2 the strips of the present invention may be secured upon the belt at their centers, so that the ends of the strips may freely swing away from the belt where the latter curves about the sprockets or rollers supporting the same.

l The spring 8 will, of course, be suitably tensioned to perform its desired function, a heavier bag requiring a one end thereof, with a finger projecting from the block over the platform in spaced relation thereto, a stop 'mounted on the other end ofthe strip'in opposing re?` 4 lation to the block, a rod mounted in the block and the stop, a second block slidable on the rod and having a second finger mounted thereon in registering relation to the first finger, and a spring mounted on the rod and operable for urging the second block away'from the first block, the fingers being engageable in the open end of the bag for stretching the same.

2. A holder for the open end of a bag lying on a platform, comprising a straight strip of rigid material secured upon the platform and having a block rising from one end thereof, with a nger projecting from the block over the platform in spaced relation thereto, a stop mounted on the other end of the strip in opposing relation to the block, a rod mounted in the block and the stop, a second block slidable on .the rod and having a second finger mounted thereon in registering relation to the first finger, and a spring mounted on the rod and operable for urging the second block away from the rst block, the fingers being engageable in the open end of the bag for stretching the same, and having outer edges tapering outwardly for anchoring engagement in the bag end.

` 3. A holder for the open end of a bag lying on a platform, comprising a straight strip of rigid material secured upon the platform and having a block rising from one end thereof, with a finger projecting from the block over the platform in spaced relation thereto, a stop mounted on the other end of the strip in opposing relation to the block, a rod mounted in the block and the stop, a second blockslidable on the. rod and having a second finger mounted thereon infregistering relation to the first finger, and a spring mounted on the ro'd and operable for urging the second block away from the first block, the fingers being engageable in the open end of the bag for stretching the same, and the fingers being inthe form of tapered blades having relatively thin outer edges engaging the bag material and heavier inner edges for spacing the bag sheets to form a lengthwise slit in the open end of the bag.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS www 

